Ha ha, so I can confirm that at least on this particular '01 Jetta, the radio will go into operation from safe mode after having power reconnected for a couple minutes.
I forgot to turn off the headlights after checking that the bulb I installed for the heater controls worked! So the battery was discharged when I came back. I hooked up the charger and turned on the radio and sure enough, SAFE was displayed. By the time I switched the charger to "start" it had decided it was in the right car and went into operation mode.
Dave Cook
________________________________
From: Dave Cook <davevw at yahoo.com>
To: VW Diesel Group <vwdiesel at vwfans.com>
Sent: Friday, November 25, 2011 1:10 PM
Subject: Re: [Vwdiesel] Radio Code-Display?
After sending that, I decided to search around a bit more. I found one site where several people said that the radio code was written on a sticker in the spare tire well, one indicated that it would only be there if someone had gone to the dealer asking for the code and the dealer tech wrote it. I didn't bother to check.
I also saw on the VAG-COM site that the radio would automatically go back into operation mode from safe mode if it was reinstalled in the same vehicle. http://www.ross-tech.com/vag-com/faq_4.html scroll down to 4.12 so I figured that I would be OK to go ahead. This would explain why the radio worked after reconnecting the battery in the past.
All I wanted to do was flip-flop the cd player and radio so the radio was in the lower position. This way the cup holder doesn't interfere with radio controls. My dad's Jetta came with them in that arrangement and it seemed like a good idea. As it turned out, I only had to unplug the cd player to do this so the radio was never disconnected. If I had, the 9v battery thing would not have worked.
But all's well that ends well. (Except that the powered antenna doesn't work well.)
Dave Cook
________________________________
From: James Hansen <jhsg at sasktel.net>
To: 'Dave Cook' <davevw at yahoo.com>
Sent: Friday, November 25, 2011 12:45 PM
Subject: RE: [Vwdiesel] Radio Code-Display?
The only way to retrieve the code is to get the numbers off the radio, and
the vin, and go to the dealer.
You can't get it via VCDS.
If you wire a 9v battery across the continuous power wires, it will maintain
the memory and avoid having to re-enter the radio code.
I know on the radios I have had through my hands, the blinking light is
decorative, to deter theft. If a code is required, the display just sez CODE
when you turn it on, but there are other models of radio, they aren't all
the same, so I can't speak for all of them.
It will usually retain memory for a bit when the power is disconnected until
the capacitors get discharged, but it's usually pretty brief. The trick to
keeping radio memory was to have a 9v battery with a cigarette lighter plug
on it, correct polarity of course. You could remove batteries, plug in the
9v battery, and it would keep things charged enough to retain memory.
-james
-----Original Message-----
From: vwdiesel-bounces at vwfans.com [mailto:vwdiesel-bounces at vwfans.com] On
Behalf Of Dave Cook
Sent: November-25-11 11:21 AM
To: VW Diesel Group
Subject: [Vwdiesel] Radio Code-Display?
Is it possible to make the radio display its security code or indicate for
sure that it requires one?
I am doing a few little things on my friend's '01 Jetta. I need to pull the
radio and I am a bit concerned about losing a security code. If there is a
code for this radio, it is lost.
Can VAG-COM be used to see the radio's security code?
Bentley says that if the code was never initially entered (according to it,
the radio's security feature isn't activated until the code is first entered
by someone at the dealership), then it won't require the code to be used.
Which I thought might be the case with this car, as I am sure we have had
the battery disconnected without it needing a code entered. However,
Bentley also says that a little LED on the radio will only blink if the
security feature has been activated. But with the key out the LED does
blink.
So even though I have had the battery out with no problem, I am a little
concerned about actually pulling the radio without having a code to reenter
if necessary.
Dave Cook
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